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Peptides for skin and hair, ranked by human evidence

Peptides used on the skin and hair and studied for wrinkles, pigmentation and ageing — from approved injectables to cosmetic-ingredient peptides whose evidence is mostly small or in-vitro. They are ranked by an evidence score that weighs the grade of the evidence, the human trials counted in PubMed, and regulatory status — shown in the columns so any rank can be checked. A high score means a peptide is well studied and often approved for something, not that it is right, safe or legal for this goal. Nothing here is medical advice, and Grey Peptides sells nothing and links to no vendor. See all goals or the plainer browse by goal map.

68 peptides · sorted by evidence score (click a column to re-sort)

Peptide Grade Human studies RCTs Max trial phase Regulatory Dose Score
Hyaluronic AcidHigh34,6391,932Phase 4FDA approved—90
Botulinum ToxinHigh22,0381,690Phase 4FDA approved—90
Pal-GHKMedium1173—Research only—65
ArgirelineMedium603Phase 3Research onlytopical →65
Collagen PeptidesMedium16,9271,173Phase 4Supplement—55
Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4Medium222—Research onlytopical →55
Tripeptide-29Low798—Research only—45
Tetrapeptide-21Low82—Research only—45
Decapeptide-12Low61—Research only—45
Tetrapeptide-30Low62—Research only—45
Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7Low51Phase 4Research only—45
Acetyl Dipeptide-1 Cetyl EsterLow42—Research only—45
Palmitoyl Dipeptide-7Low31—Research only—45
Nonapeptide-1Low21—Research only—45
Hexapeptide-9Low11—Research only—45
Oligopeptide-68Low11—Research only—45
Hexapeptide-11Low50—Research only—35
Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38Low30—Research only—35
Palmitoyl Tripeptide-5Low30Phase 4Research only—35
Tripeptide-10 CitrullineLow31—Research only—35
Acetyl Octapeptide-3Low10—Research only—35
Acetyl Tetrapeptide-2Low11—Research only—35
Acetyl Tetrapeptide-3Low00—Research only—35
Hexapeptide-10Low320—Research only—25
Dipeptide-2Low250—Research only—25
LeuphasylLow110—Research only—25
Pentapeptide-3Low40—Research only—25
Tetrapeptide-1Low40—Research only—25
Acetyl Hexapeptide-1Low20—Research only—25
Palmitoyl Tripeptide-8Low20—Research only—25
Syn-AkeLow20—Research only—25
Acetyl Tetrapeptide-11Low10—Research only—25
Acetyl Tetrapeptide-5Low10—Research only—25
Acetyl Tetrapeptide-9Low10—Research only—25
AHK-CuLow10Early Phase 1Research only—25
Hexapeptide-33Low10—Research only—25
Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-12Low10—Research only—25
Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-20Low10—Research only—25
Acetyl Decapeptide-3Low00—Research only—20
Acetyl Dipeptide-3 AminohexanoateLow00—Research only—20
Acetyl Heptapeptide-4Low00—Research only—20
Acetyl Hexapeptide-30Low00—Research only—20
Acetyl Hexapeptide-37Low00—Research only—20
Acetyl Hexapeptide-38Low00—Research only—20
Acetyl Hexapeptide-49Low00—Research only—20
Acetyl Hexapeptide-51 AmideLow00—Research only—20
Acetyl Pentapeptide-1Low00—Research only—20
Acetyl SH-Heptapeptide-1Low00—Research only—20
Acetyl Tetrapeptide-15Low00—Research only—20
Acetyl Tetrapeptide-22Low00—Research only—20
Acetyl Tripeptide-1Low00—Research only—20
Biotinoyl Tripeptide-1Low00—Research only—20
Caprooyl Tetrapeptide-3Low00—Research only—20
Hexanoyl Dipeptide-3 Norleucine AcetateLow00—Research only—20
Myristoyl Hexapeptide-16Low00—Research only—20
Myristoyl Pentapeptide-17Low00—Research only—20
Myristoyl Tetrapeptide-12Low00—Research only—20
Octapeptide-2Low00—Research only—20
Palmitoyl Dipeptide-10Low00Phase 4Research only—20
Palmitoyl Dipeptide-5 Diaminobutyroyl HydroxythreonineLow00—Research only—20
Palmitoyl Dipeptide-5 DiaminohydroxybutyrateLow00—Research only—20
Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-14Low00—Research only—20
Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-10Low00—Research only—20
Palmitoyl Tripeptide-28Low00—Research only—20
Pentapeptide-31Low00—Research only—20
Tetrapeptide-26Low00—Research only—20
Trifluoroacetyl Tripeptide-2Low00—Research only—20
Tripeptide-32Low00—Research only—20

Other goals: Weight loss and metabolism · Healing, injury and recovery · Focus, mood and the brain · Growth hormone and body composition · Heart and circulation · Sexual and reproductive health · Longevity and cell health · Immune defence and infection · Diagnostic and research tools · In development

How the evidence score works

Evidence score (0-100), a transparent ranking aid, not a verdict. grade: high=60, medium=40, low=20, ungraded=0. Human trial: an on-site read-and-cited randomized or clinical trial = +15, else any PubMed human-indexed record = +5, else 0. RCT literature: PubMed lists >=1 randomized controlled trial = +10. Regulatory: FDA-approved = +15, in trials / approved-abroad / in development = +5, else 0. Every component is stored on each record so the number can be re-derived; volume and grade are shown together so neither misleads.

“Human studies” and “RCTs” are PubMed record counts for the peptide (read 2026-11-07 from the counts behind the Evidence Explorer); a count is how much research exists and of what kind, never proof a peptide works. “Grade” is our editorial reading of the evidence — see how we grade evidence. The “Dose” column links to the entry for each peptide that carries a dose from a regulator’s label or a published human study — where the amount is shown with its source; the amount is never reprinted here without that source, and many research peptides have no human dose, shown as —. Of 660 peptides, 607 have at least one human-indexed PubMed record, 324 cite a human trial on their page, 124 are FDA-approved, and 271 carry a sourced dose.